Indicating mechanism



E. F. WATSON. INDICAT ING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. I7. 1920.

Patented Aug. 9, 1921.

rrsosra PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD F. WATSON, OLE YONKERS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

INDIGATIN G MECHANISM..

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug, 9, 1921- Application filed August 1'7, 1920. Serial No. 404,210.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, EDWARD F. WArsoN, residing at Yonkers, in the county of /Vest chester and State of New York, have invented certain Improvements in Indicating Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to indicators and particularly to indicating mechanism for use with key-controlling apparatus.

The principal object of this invention is to provide an indicator of the above type that is positive in action and one that will show the exact position and number of the characters as they are produced.

Such mechanism has been found desirable in connection with perforators in preparing tapes adapted for use with printing tele graph systems wherein the characters are printed by receiving instruments in page form. The indicators are so arranged that the number and relative horizontal positions of the last character produced may be determined at a glance. This relieves the operator of counting the characters and spaces in order to ascertain when to actuate a key to produce the combination of perforations necessary to effect the return of the printer carriage.

Certain key-controlled indicators have this invention is to provide an indicating mechanism that will not give false-mellow tions. This is accomplished by providing a cut-out arrangement to prevent operation of the indicator when keys, which will not cause a spacing operation in the printer, are.

depressed.

The above and other objects of this inven tion will be fully set forth in the following description and claims, and will be more readilyunderstood by reference to the ac-,

company drawing, in which Figure 1 is a plan of the mechanism assembled in connection with a keyboard perforator, sections of the mechanism and the inclosing casing being broken away to more clearly show the operating. parts; Fig. 2 is a detail of part of the actuating mechanism; Fig. 8 is a detall of part of the reset controlling mechanism; Fig. 4 is a partial plan showing some of the parts in resetting position; and Fig.

5 is a detail of the indicator cut-out mecha nism controlled by certain keys. The preferred embodiment of this invention is shown associated with a keyboard tape perforator of well-known construction, and is an improvement on the mechanism disclosed and claimed in U. S. Patent 1,201,- 810, dated October 17,1916.

The details of the perforator are not shown but it will be understood that the depression of any of the character keys 9 causesv the selection of combinations of On the front frame of the perforator'or on a suitable plate attached thereto is an indicating scale 14: which is divided into sections proportional tothe width of the character and letter spaces. Adjacent to the scale 14 is an elongated slot or opening 16, through and along which an indicating device or pointer 17 is adapted to move. With this construction the pointer is at alltimes visible to the operator, while the actuating mechanism therefor is hidden from view and protected by the casing.

Suitably mounted in the frame beneath the cover, is a shaft 19 which carries mechanismfor controlling the movement of the pointer 17. On the shaft 19 there is loosely mounted a ratchet wheel 20, provided with a drum 21 and circumferential teeth 22. The drum 21 is adapted to receive a cord or other fiexibleconnecting member 24, which may be wound thereon and unwound therefrom, as hereinafter described, to control the movement of the pointer 17. The cord 24. passes from drum 21 over a guide roller 25 and is securedto one side of the pointer 17. Av suitable energy-storing body, such as a coil spring 29, is provided, secured at. one end to the frame of the perforator by pin 30. The free end of spring 29 carries a ring 31 through which a second cord 32 passes. Cord 32 is secured at one endto the frame by a pin 43 and at the other end to the pointer 17 on the side opposite to that to which the cord 24 is attached. If desirable, only one cord may be used which may be secured to the pointer in any suitable manner. It is, therefore, readily apparent that when the wheel 20isrotated in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1, as will be hereinafter explained/the cord 24 will be wound on drum 21, pointer 1? will move along the scale l4from'left to right, and spring 29 will be extended 'to store "up energy to be later employed in restoring the apparatus to normal.

Wheel 20 is rotated step by step in the direction of the arrowshown in Fig. 1,11p0n each complete depression of any of the keys 9which control functions that cause a spacing operation in theprinter. Shaft 12' carries a small crank 38 to which is pivoted a link 391 Link 39 is provided at its end opposite the crank38, with a shoulder po tion 40 and a coil spring 41. Spring 41 'is secured at one end to the link 39 by pin 42, and at the other end tofa'n angle lever 44 by pin 45. The lever 44 is pivoted to the frame'ofthe machine at 46, andis so positioned that its rearwardly extending end can be engaged by tneshoulder portion 40' of link 39. Each time shaft 12 and crank 38 are rotated in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2,- ivhich is thedirection of rotation when the magnet 11 is energized to actuate the punches, spring 41 formsa flexible coupling between link 39 and lever44 to actuate this lever. By this means the excessive jar caused by the hammerlike stroke of link 39 is not communicated to 'the indicator mechanism. lVhe'n, on the otherhand, mag

net 11 is de'efnergizedandthe spring thereinbefore mentloned causes the armature to return to normal, the Shoulder portion 40 of link 39' returns crank'44 to normal position. Lever 44 'plvotally carries a long actuating pawl 49, which is provided at its free end I with a hook portion 50, adapted, undercertain conditions, upon its retraction to en gage the teeth 22 on the circumference of the wheel 20. When the magnet 11 1s deenergized, the pawl 49 is advanced until the and the pointer is moved one step along.

hook portion 50 has passed over the number.

of teeth desiredfor eachfstep, and when the magnet is energizedQthepawl 49 and the hookportion 50am retracted and the wheel 20 is rotated in'the direction of the arrow,

the scale.

Beneath the key levers ofthe keyboard is a rod or supporting member lQO, 'piyotally mounted in supporting brackets"l O4 and '1'05,

att achedcto the .base of the machinef Each key of the keyboard whiclrcontrols some auxiliary operation or function which' should not be recorded by the indicating which is adapted to be rocked to engage an extension99 on pawl member 49 to move the pawl and hook portion 50, carried thereby, out of engagement with the ratchet wheel 20 when certain key levers are depressed, as clearly shown Figs. land member 106 is shown attached to the uprightmember 1'02 to prevent actuation of the pawl '49, except when"the particular keys for controlling auxiliary operations, which do not effect spacing operations of the printer, are depressed.

Wh t e nd 0 a lin is eached i i otherwise desirable to start a new line of characters, a reset key 54is depressed. In additionto producing the combination of perforations required for "resetting the printer carriage, of a receiving printer, which need not be here explained, the reset key 54 causes the pointer 17 to return to the zero point on thescale; The key 54 isprovided"with a pinfo 'oadapted to actuate a bell cra k le e 6 when he key Id presse he uppe n of er 56 wi theniengage ithe 'tailof the holding pawl 58. pivoted to the frame at 59/ Pawl 58 is nora y el y 1 prin 60 o tha ts 'fb i a end '51 is in engagement with teeth 22 of wheel 20 'and'thusprevents-the spring ,29 rom rotatin th Whe 1 0' n e ev e ire t on during th fla vanq ment of pawl 4 Whe howeve thefhh di ig PQWI 8 is moved against the tension or spring by the cl pressiqnpf reset. key 4., thefeild is removed from lenga errientlwith the teeth 2 anymg wi h in thawing p w 4 as s ow i Bis 4, an spr n 29 i f ee to r t l hewhee 2 an penta- 17 o normal posi iqn- 11 1 ord r o. insu e the compl e e l lilbf e P inter an to arre t his rern mo emen h iire pl mean are providedffor the man-timer, the holding pawl out of' operatingposition until the normal: condition is reestablished then the holding device is caused to" again become 64 has a shoulder portion 66 adapted to eng ge apii efpaw1 .8v u der rt in D ditions as hereinafter explained. -Whe n pawl 58 is in position to engage'the teeth 22, the pin167 thereon rests] beneath the shoulder 66. ,on latch 64, and forces the latch back against theipost 769., When, however, 7

the pawl 58 is raised by reset key 54, as hereinbefore described, the pin 67 is elevated above the shoulder 6,6,fand spring65 causes latch 64 to take such a position that when the key is released, the pawl 58, instead, of again engaging the teeth 22, is held out of such engagement because of the cooperation of shoulder 66 and pin 67. The wheel 20 carries a lug 74:, projecting laterally, to engage the latch 6st when the pointer has reached the zero position. Latch 6% is thereupon forced backward until pin 67 is released from shoulder 66 and the pawls 58 and 49 .are again allowed to assume their operative positions. The reverse movement of the latch 64: and consequently the wheel 20 and pointer 17 is arrested by post 69 which is adjustable, as shown in Fig; 1, to allow for correcting the normal position of the pointer so that it will return exactly to the 0 point of the scale.

In order to give the operator a warning signal to notify ,her of the approach of the end of the line, the wheel 20 carries a cam Set which is adapted to engage and close a pair of contact springs 85. These springs may be connected to a suitable source of energy in a circuit including a signal, such as a bell or lamp, and by properly positioning the cam 84, the signal may be operated at any desired distance from the end of the line.

lVhat is claimed is: I

1. A keyboard controlled indicator comprising a scale, a pointer adapted to move along said scale, mechanism for advancing the pointer step by step, actuating means for said mechanism, key levers controlling said actuating means to move said pointer, and other key levers controlling said actuating means to prevent movement ofsaid pointer.

2. In an indicator for keyboard mechanism the combination of an indicating device, operating mechanism'therefor, keys, a lever adapted to engage and actuate said operating mechanism upon the depression of predetermined ones of said keys, and means controlled by other predetermined keys to prevent engagement of said lever and said operating mechanism.

8. A. keyboard controlled indicator comprising a scale, a pointer adapted to move along said scale, a wheel for advancing the pointer step by step, actuating means for said wheel, key levers controlling said actuating means to cause the rotation of said wheel, and other key levers controlling said actuating means to prevent rotation of said wheel;

4. In an indicator for keyboard mechanism, the combination of an indicating device, operating mechanism therefor comprising a ratchet wheel, a pawl adapted to engage said ratchet wheel to actuate said indicator step by step, key levers for controlling and permitting engagement between said pawl and said ratchet wheel, and other key levers arranged when actuated to prevent engagement between said pawl and said ratchet wheel. 7 p

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification this 13th day of August, 1920.

EDWARD r. WATSON. 

